Envision Utah’s Report on the Port
Envision Utah released their 241-page report about the public perception of the Utah Inland Port, and the feedback from the report was overwhelmingly clear: Utahns are concerned about the environmental impacts the proposed port could have.
Envision Utah conducted the study over several months with meetings, focus groups, and an online survey the UPHE participated in. According to the study the four primary concerns about the Inland Port are:
- Air quality. Primarily as it relates to increased truck and rail traffic.
- Potential impacts to wetlands, habitat, wildlife, and water quality in the Great Salt Lake ecosystem.
- Ongoing political conflicts. There is distrust among the public and stakeholders stemming from a perceived lack of transparency from the port authority.
- Fossil fuels. Some members of the public see the port authority as a potential funding mechanism for fossil fuels to be processed, stored, or handled in Salt Lake County, although there is little market demand for such activity.
Commenting on the study to KUTV news is UPHE President, Dr. Brian Moench: “I think there’s growing concern from the Inland Port proponents that the public is not on board with this and not getting on board with this,” Moench said. “They don’t want their name on something that the public bitterly resents for decades.”
“It’s not enough to monitor the air quality now so that we can get some kind of a baseline for how much the development deteriorates the air quality,” Moench said.
